Paris, Aug 29 : The highly pathogenic bird flu, avian influenza, has been detected in a duck farm in France's eastern department of Ain, causing a total of 10,600 ducks culled, French media reported. The State services (departmental directorate for the protection of populations) of Ain have highlighted an outbreak of avian influenza due to a strain of the H5N1 virus in a duck farm located in Saint-Nizier-le-Desert, Le Figaro reported, citing the prefecture of the Ain department. An epidemiological investigation is underway as the suspicion of the bird flu infection follows the observation of abnormal mortality of the ducks in the farm, wrote Le Figaro, adding that the first cluster of the high pathogenic bird flu was found on Saturday at the duck farm, Xinhua news agency reported. According to the local authorities, the cluster has been "depopulated and disinfected", and a protection zone of three km around the outbreak, a surveillance and control zone of 10 km around the outbreak has been put in place. Since November 2021, France has reported more than 1,300 clusters of high pathogenic virus and ordered the cull of 20 million birds. During the period from autumn 2020 to spring 2021, 500 clusters of high pathogenic bird flu were detected and 3.5 million birds were culled in the country. /IANS